diff --git a/doc/nextgen/api.rst b/doc/nextgen/api.rst
index 4ede326ef1..41522ebc99 100644
--- a/doc/nextgen/api.rst
+++ b/doc/nextgen/api.rst
@@ -18,13 +18,14 @@ Plot interface
 
     Plot
     Plot.add
-    Plot.scale
     Plot.facet
     Plot.pair
-    Plot.configure
+    Plot.layout
     Plot.on
     Plot.plot
     Plot.save
+    Plot.scale
+    Plot.share
     Plot.show
 
 Marks
diff --git a/doc/nextgen/demo.ipynb b/doc/nextgen/demo.ipynb
index 08fde40e61..2924c9debe 100644
--- a/doc/nextgen/demo.ipynb
+++ b/doc/nextgen/demo.ipynb
@@ -717,7 +717,7 @@
     "    .facet(col=\"day\")\n",
     "    .add(so.Dots(color=\".75\"), col=None)\n",
     "    .add(so.Dots(), color=\"day\")\n",
-    "    .configure(figsize=(7, 3))\n",
+    "    .layout(size=(7, 3))\n",
     ")"
    ]
   },
@@ -808,7 +808,7 @@
     "(\n",
     "    so.Plot(tips)\n",
     "    .pair(x=tips.columns, wrap=3)\n",
-    "    .configure(sharey=False)\n",
+    "    .share(y=False)\n",
     "    .add(so.Bar(), so.Hist())\n",
     ")"
    ]
diff --git a/doc/nextgen/index.ipynb b/doc/nextgen/index.ipynb
index 6b95991dba..368ecffda8 100644
--- a/doc/nextgen/index.ipynb
+++ b/doc/nextgen/index.ipynb
@@ -20,7 +20,6 @@
    "outputs": [],
    "source": [
     "import seaborn as sns\n",
-    "sns.set_theme()\n",
     "tips = sns.load_dataset(\"tips\")\n",
     "\n",
     "import seaborn.objects as so\n",
@@ -31,7 +30,7 @@
     "    )\n",
     "    .facet(\"time\")\n",
     "    .add(so.Dots())\n",
-    "    .configure(figsize=(7, 4))\n",
+    "    .layout(size=(7, 4))\n",
     ")"
    ]
   },
diff --git a/seaborn/_core/plot.py b/seaborn/_core/plot.py
index 1a96d3c6cb..0e1f924581 100644
--- a/seaborn/_core/plot.py
+++ b/seaborn/_core/plot.py
@@ -150,6 +150,7 @@ class Plot:
     _layers: list[Layer]
 
     _scales: dict[str, Scale]
+    _shares: dict[str, bool | str]
     _limits: dict[str, tuple[Any, Any]]
     _labels: dict[str, str | Callable[[str], str]]
     _theme: dict[str, Any]
@@ -159,6 +160,7 @@ class Plot:
 
     _figure_spec: dict[str, Any]
     _subplot_spec: dict[str, Any]
+    _layout_spec: dict[str, Any]
 
     def __init__(
         self,
@@ -180,6 +182,7 @@ def __init__(
         self._layers = []
 
         self._scales = {}
+        self._shares = {}
         self._limits = {}
         self._labels = {}
         self._theme = {}
@@ -189,6 +192,7 @@ def __init__(
 
         self._figure_spec = {}
         self._subplot_spec = {}
+        self._layout_spec = {}
 
         self._target = None
 
@@ -250,6 +254,7 @@ def _clone(self) -> Plot:
         new._layers.extend(self._layers)
 
         new._scales.update(self._scales)
+        new._shares.update(self._shares)
         new._limits.update(self._limits)
         new._labels.update(self._labels)
         new._theme.update(self._theme)
@@ -259,6 +264,7 @@ def _clone(self) -> Plot:
 
         new._figure_spec.update(self._figure_spec)
         new._subplot_spec.update(self._subplot_spec)
+        new._layout_spec.update(self._layout_spec)
 
         new._target = self._target
 
@@ -272,7 +278,7 @@ def _theme_with_defaults(self) -> dict[str, Any]:
             "xaxis", "xtick", "yaxis", "ytick",
         ]
         base = {
-            k: v for k, v in mpl.rcParamsDefault.items()
+            k: mpl.rcParamsDefault[k] for k in mpl.rcParams
             if any(k.startswith(p) for p in style_groups)
         }
         theme = {
@@ -584,6 +590,21 @@ def scale(self, **scales: Scale) -> Plot:
         new._scales.update(scales)
         return new
 
+    def share(self, **shares: bool | str) -> Plot:
+        """
+        Control sharing of axis limits and ticks across subplots.
+
+        Keywords correspond to variables defined in the plot, and values can be
+        boolean (to share across all subplots), or one of "row" or "col" (to share
+        more selectively across one dimension of a grid).
+
+        Behavior for non-coordinate variables is currently undefined.
+
+        """
+        new = self._clone()
+        new._shares.update(shares)
+        return new
+
     def limit(self, **limits: tuple[Any, Any]) -> Plot:
         """
         Control the range of visible data.
@@ -624,23 +645,22 @@ def label(self, *, title=None, **variables: str | Callable[[str], str]) -> Plot:
         new._labels.update(variables)
         return new
 
-    def configure(
+    def layout(
         self,
-        figsize: tuple[float, float] | None = None,
-        sharex: bool | str | None = None,
-        sharey: bool | str | None = None,
+        *,
+        size: tuple[float, float] | None = None,
+        algo: str | None = "tight",  # TODO document
     ) -> Plot:
         """
         Control the figure size and layout.
 
         Parameters
         ----------
-        figsize: (width, height)
-            Size of the resulting figure, in inches.
-        sharex, sharey : bool, "row", or "col"
-            Whether axis limits should be shared across subplots. Boolean values apply
-            across the entire grid, whereas `"row"` or `"col"` have a smaller scope.
-            Shared axes will have tick labels disabled.
+        size : (width, height)
+            Size of the resulting figure, in inches. Size is inclusive of legend when
+            using pyplot, but not otherwise.
+        algo : {{"tight", "constrained", None}}
+            Name of algorithm for automatically adjusting the layout to remove overlap.
 
         """
         # TODO add an "auto" mode for figsize that roughly scales with the rcParams
@@ -650,12 +670,8 @@ def configure(
 
         new = self._clone()
 
-        new._figure_spec["figsize"] = figsize
-
-        if sharex is not None:
-            new._subplot_spec["sharex"] = sharex
-        if sharey is not None:
-            new._subplot_spec["sharey"] = sharey
+        new._figure_spec["figsize"] = size
+        new._layout_spec["algo"] = algo
 
         return new
 
@@ -881,6 +897,10 @@ def _setup_figure(self, p: Plot, common: PlotData, layers: list[Layer]) -> None:
         facet_spec = p._facet_spec.copy()
         pair_spec = p._pair_spec.copy()
 
+        for axis in "xy":
+            if axis in p._shares:
+                subplot_spec[f"share{axis}"] = p._shares[axis]
+
         for dim in ["col", "row"]:
             if dim in common.frame and dim not in facet_spec["structure"]:
                 order = categorical_order(common.frame[dim])
@@ -915,7 +935,7 @@ def _setup_figure(self, p: Plot, common: PlotData, layers: list[Layer]) -> None:
 
                 # ~~ Decoration visibility
 
-                # TODO there should be some override (in Plot.configure?) so that
+                # TODO there should be some override (in Plot.layout?) so that
                 # tick labels can be shown on interior shared axes
                 axis_obj = getattr(ax, f"{axis}axis")
                 visible_side = {"x": "bottom", "y": "left"}.get(axis)
@@ -935,10 +955,7 @@ def _setup_figure(self, p: Plot, common: PlotData, layers: list[Layer]) -> None:
                     for t in getattr(axis_obj, f"get_{group}ticklabels")():
                         t.set_visible(show_tick_labels)
 
-            # TODO title template should be configurable
-            # ---- Also we want right-side titles for row facets in most cases?
-            # ---- Or wrapped? That can get annoying too.
-            # TODO should configure() accept a title= kwarg (for single subplot plots)?
+            # TODO we want right-side titles for row facets in most cases?
             # Let's have what we currently call "margin titles" but properly using the
             # ax.set_title interface (see my gist)
             title_parts = []
@@ -1508,6 +1525,9 @@ def _make_legend(self, p: Plot) -> None:
             else:
                 merged_contents[key] = artists.copy(), labels
 
+        # TODO explain
+        loc = "center right" if self._pyplot else "center left"
+
         base_legend = None
         for (name, _), (handles, labels) in merged_contents.items():
 
@@ -1516,7 +1536,7 @@ def _make_legend(self, p: Plot) -> None:
                 handles,
                 labels,
                 title=name,
-                loc="center left",
+                loc=loc,
                 bbox_to_anchor=(.98, .55),
             )
 
@@ -1550,9 +1570,11 @@ def _finalize_figure(self, p: Plot) -> None:
                         hi = cast(float, hi) + 0.5
                     ax.set(**{f"{axis}lim": (lo, hi)})
 
-        # TODO this should be configurable
-        if not self._figure.get_constrained_layout():
+        layout_algo = p._layout_spec.get("algo", "tight")
+        if layout_algo == "tight":
             self._figure.set_tight_layout(True)
+        elif layout_algo == "constrained":
+            self._figure.set_constrained_layout(True)
 
 
 @contextmanager
diff --git a/tests/_core/test_plot.py b/tests/_core/test_plot.py
index 14c40672fa..b83ffc6bc1 100644
--- a/tests/_core/test_plot.py
+++ b/tests/_core/test_plot.py
@@ -503,7 +503,7 @@ def test_facet_categories_unshared(self):
         p = (
             Plot(x=["a", "b", "a", "c"])
             .facet(col=["x", "x", "y", "y"])
-            .configure(sharex=False)
+            .share(x=False)
             .add(m)
             .plot()
         )
@@ -527,7 +527,7 @@ def test_facet_categories_single_dim_shared(self):
             Plot(df, x="x")
             .facet(row="row", col="col")
             .add(m)
-            .configure(sharex="row")
+            .share(x="row")
             .plot()
         )
 
@@ -562,7 +562,7 @@ def test_pair_categories_shared(self):
         data = [("a", "a"), ("b", "c")]
         df = pd.DataFrame(data, columns=["x1", "x2"]).assign(y=1)
         m = MockMark()
-        p = Plot(df, y="y").pair(x=["x1", "x2"]).add(m).configure(sharex=True).plot()
+        p = Plot(df, y="y").pair(x=["x1", "x2"]).add(m).share(x=True).plot()
 
         for ax in p._figure.axes:
             assert ax.get_xticks() == [0, 1, 2]
@@ -994,6 +994,12 @@ def test_save(self):
         tag = xml.etree.ElementTree.fromstring(buf.getvalue()).tag
         assert tag == "{http://www.w3.org/2000/svg}svg"
 
+    def test_layout_size(self):
+
+        size = (4, 2)
+        p = Plot().layout(size=size).plot()
+        assert tuple(p._figure.get_size_inches()) == size
+
     def test_on_axes(self):
 
         ax = mpl.figure.Figure().subplots()
@@ -1239,11 +1245,27 @@ def test_2d_with_order(self, long_df, reorder):
         p = Plot(long_df).facet(**variables, order=order)
         self.check_facet_results_2d(p, long_df, variables, order)
 
-    def test_figsize(self):
+    @pytest.mark.parametrize("algo", ["tight", "constrained"])
+    def test_layout_algo(self, algo):
+
+        if algo == "constrained" and Version(mpl.__version__) < Version("3.3.0"):
+            pytest.skip("constrained_layout requires matplotlib>=3.3")
+
+        p = Plot().facet(["a", "b"]).limit(x=(.1, .9))
+
+        p1 = p.layout(algo=algo).plot()
+        p2 = p.layout(algo=None).plot()
+
+        # Force a draw (we probably need a method for this)
+        p1.save(io.BytesIO())
+        p2.save(io.BytesIO())
+
+        bb11, bb12 = [ax.get_position() for ax in p1._figure.axes]
+        bb21, bb22 = [ax.get_position() for ax in p2._figure.axes]
 
-        figsize = (4, 2)
-        p = Plot().configure(figsize=figsize).plot()
-        assert tuple(p._figure.get_size_inches()) == figsize
+        sep1 = bb12.corners()[0, 0] - bb11.corners()[2, 0]
+        sep2 = bb22.corners()[0, 0] - bb21.corners()[2, 0]
+        assert sep1 < sep2
 
     def test_axis_sharing(self, long_df):
 
@@ -1257,13 +1279,13 @@ def test_axis_sharing(self, long_df):
             shareset = getattr(root, f"get_shared_{axis}_axes")()
             assert all(shareset.joined(root, ax) for ax in other)
 
-        p2 = p.configure(sharex=False, sharey=False).plot()
+        p2 = p.share(x=False, y=False).plot()
         root, *other = p2._figure.axes
         for axis in "xy":
             shareset = getattr(root, f"get_shared_{axis}_axes")()
             assert not any(shareset.joined(root, ax) for ax in other)
 
-        p3 = p.configure(sharex="col", sharey="row").plot()
+        p3 = p.share(x="col", y="row").plot()
         shape = (
             len(categorical_order(long_df[variables["row"]])),
             len(categorical_order(long_df[variables["col"]])),
@@ -1448,7 +1470,7 @@ def test_axis_sharing(self, long_df):
             y_shareset = getattr(root, "get_shared_y_axes")()
             assert not any(y_shareset.joined(root, ax) for ax in other)
 
-        p2 = p.configure(sharex=False, sharey=False).plot()
+        p2 = p.share(x=False, y=False).plot()
         root, *other = p2._figure.axes
         for axis in "xy":
             shareset = getattr(root, f"get_shared_{axis}_axes")()
@@ -1712,7 +1734,7 @@ def test_2d_unshared(self):
         p = (
             Plot()
             .facet(col=["a", "b"], row=["x", "y"])
-            .configure(sharex=False, sharey=False)
+            .share(x=False, y=False)
             .plot()
         )
         subplots = list(p._subplots)